Background

Candidates who previously applied need not re-apply.

The United Nations Country Team (UNCT) for Nepal and the Government of Nepal signed in September 2012 the UN’s Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) for the period 2013-17. This UNDAF is the strategic framework for the UN’s work in Nepal in the coming five years. Prior to the preparation of the UNDAF, the UNCT prepared a country analysis based on the different types of vulnerabilities that Nepalis’ face as well as the root-causes for these vulnerabilities. They range from patriarchal values and beliefs, to unequal access to economic resources, lack of representation in political bodies, remoteness and a lack of access to markets. The UNDAF itself focuses on initiatives required to address these systemic issues.

The UNDAF has eight main outcome areas – five that deal with advancing the development process, three that deal with the need to protect development gains threatened by natural and man-made hazards, and one that deals with facilitation of Nepal’s international cooperation.

Among the three components covered by the UNDAF, Component II is dedicated to “Protecting Development Goals”. Outcome 7 under Component II aims to protect development gains so that “People living in areas vulnerable to climate change and disasters benefit from improved risk management and are more resilient to hazard-related shocks.”  The four Outputs of Outcome 7 focus on capacity enhancement, urban risk management, enhancing access of vulnerable populations and strengthening national preparedness and response systems. This outcome intends to combine climate change adaptation (CCA) and disaster risk reduction (DRR) practices together. The proposed interventions will enhance national capacities at central, district and regional levels for mainstreaming risk reduction approach in development as well as taking immediate actions to mitigate most imminent risks through better preparedness and response mechanism. There are eight UN agencies- UNDP, FAO, WHO, IOM, UN Habitat, UN OCHA, IOM and UN Women contributing to four outputs under this outcome.

The Outcome Coordinator for Outcome 7 will be one of the seven outcome coordinators that will support the implementation of the UNDAF. Because the areas of work and the activities covered under a given outcome do not fall squarely within the mandate of any one UN agency, the outcome coordinators will work across agencies to support coherent and complementary implementation of outcome-related activities and to ensure consistent and well-documented reporting on the results achieved under each outcome. Each outcome coordinator will be based within the UN agency that has agreed to be the lead agency for that outcome and will report to the head of the lead UN agency. The outcome coordinator will also have a secondary reporting line to the head of the UN’s Resident Coordinator’s Office. For Outcome 7, the lead agency is UNDP.

Duties and Responsibilities

Functions and Results expected:
Summary of Key Functions

Supporting the Outcome Steering Group: each UNDAF outcome has an Outcome Steering Group (OSG) responsible for maintaining a strategic overview of progress being made towards the respective UNDAF outcome and for identifying areas for corrective intervention where needed. Outcome 7 Steering Group will be chaired by Joint Secretary of Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment (MoSTE) and Joint Secretary of Ministry of Home Affairs on rotational with UNDP as the vice-chair. The members of OSG 7 will be representatives from UNDP, FAO, WHO, IOM, UN Habitat, UN OCHA, IOM and UN Women contributing to the attain the targets set by Outcome 7. The Outcome Coordinator will be the secretariat to the OSG.

This function will include:

• Supporting the OSG to identify the best fit coordination mechanism among the existing ones to function as the platform to discuss Outcome 7 workplan and progress;
• Facilitating regular internal coordination meetings among UN agencies representing OSG 7 for planning, collaboration for synergetic efforts and reporting the progress;
• Supporting the organization of OSG meetings, which will be held at least three times a year, including by supporting the chair to send out invitations, briefing the chair and vice-chair on key issues and bottlenecks for advancement in the outcome, identifying the agenda, preparing presentations;
• Writing minutes for the meetings and ensuring they get circulated to each relevant stakeholder;
• Being an effective and efficient liaison between the chair, the vice-chair, UN agencies working in that outcome and other stakeholders for that outcome; and
• Supporting the OSG in preparing annual outcome results reports for presentation to the UNDAF Steering Committee.

Preparing annual work-plans for the outcome-associated projects and programs:
This will include:

• Liaising with the agencies working in the outcome area to collect their annual or periodic work-plans in a timely manner;
• Collating the agencies’ individual work-plans into one coherent output and activity list in such a way that it clearly identifies areas of overlap and/or complementarities and close cooperation;
• Update such work-plan mid-year if needed; and
• Identifying areas for joint programming and supporting agencies in developing such joint programming in their respective outcome area.

Ensuring implementation of and reporting on the Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) framework as it relates to the specific outcome.
This includes:

• Twice a year, collecting inputs from agencies working in this outcome on the achievements against the outputs under the outcome and the related key indicators of the UNDAF M&E framework; to the extent possible this will include a focus on the change this implies for UNDAF priority groups and how the UNCT has contributed to such change;
• Participating regular meetings with Vulnerable Groups’ champions and contribute to achieve the targets under Outcome 7;
• Validating such information as needed across agencies, with vulnerable groups’ champions, government, civil society, academia and other relevant stakeholders both in Kathmandu and in the field;
• Identifying bottlenecks to the implementation of the UNDAF and propose solutions;
• Ensuring protocol sheets for the outcome are maintained and kept up to date;
• Staying abreast of financial plans, commitments, and actual disbursements per UN agency working under the outcome;
• Keeping track of the progress for each output as per a pre-agreed format; and
• Based on the above, providing inputs into UNDAF annual reports and other UNDAF related documents such as the mid-term review, special focus reports, end-evaluations etc.

Knowledge management:
This includes:

• Staying abreast of and providing research as needed on the political, economic, and social environment in Nepal that may affect the outcome;
• Analysis and research of information on donors, preparation of substantive briefs on donor strategies and national development strategies related to the outcome as well as advising the OSG chair, vice-chair and the RC on options for ensuring synchronicity, alignment and complementarity between these strategies and the UNDAF;
• Preparing regular briefs, stories, and other content for uploading on the UNCT’s Nepal Information Platform, including by liaising with the identified champions for 19 vulnerable groups in the country analysis;
• Participating actively in the UNCT’s communications group;
• Providing speaker’s notes, talking points, inputs into speeches for the chair, vice chair and the RC in the substantive outcome area; and
• Ensuring regular exchange of information between the relevant outcome group stakeholders and other national or international coordination mechanisms that exists in that area of work such as Flagships under Nepal Risk Reduction Consortium, DIPECHO and UNHCT Operational Group;
  
• Contributing to the production of knowledge products pertaining to the outcome area.

Coordination and Partnership:

• Identifying areas for synergy and collaboration among UN agencies under different outputs and assisting UN focal persons in facilitating dialogues for collaboration;
• Providing support to the OSG stakeholders in coordinating the activities and policy initiatives to contribute towards attainment of visible and tangible impacts of the Outcome 7;
• Liaising with UN agencies for implementation of the resource mobilization strategy for UNDAF implementation;
• Ensuring effective advocacy of UN activities in close consultation with UNDP communication focal point and RC office;
• Representing UN agencies and share the UNDAF Outcome 7 targets and achievements at the national forums;
• Liaising with the national agencies contributing to the Outcome 7 in close coordination and collaboration with the respective UN agencies for better coordination and implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the Outcome 7 workplan.

Facilitate the mainstreaming of conflict sensitivity in UN agencies and government partners:
This includes:

• Ensuring that key staff (Government and UN) contributing to UNDAF Outputs are sensitized on conflict-sensitive approaches to development or peace building work; make recommendations to the UN Interagency Technical Team on Conflict Sensitivity for training/orientation needs for key staff contributing to UNDAF Outputs;
• Ensuring that each UNDAF Output conducts periodic Do No Harm analysis and integrates such analysis in annual planning and implementation;
• Monitoring the implementation of Output adjustments as a result of a Do No Harm analysis;
• Reviewing institutional guidelines associated with each UNDAF Output's implementation and ensures that targeting, beneficiary selection, partnership selection and grant policies are implemented in a conflict-sensitive manner;
• Any other task that may be reasonably requested by the head of the lead agency.

Competencies

Functional Competencies:      

Advocacy/Advancing a Policy-Oriented Agenda:
Analysis and creation of messages and strategies

• Creates effective advocacy strategies;
• Contributes to the elaboration of advocacy strategies by identifying and prioritizing audiences and communication means;
• Performs analysis of political situations and scenarios, and contributes to the formulation of institutional responses.

Results-based Program Development and Management:
Achieving results through program design and innovative resourcing strategies

• Identifies country needs and strategies using a fact-based approach;
• Sets performance standards, monitors progress and intervenes at an early stage to ensure results are in accordance with agreed-upon quality and timeframes and reports on it;
• Makes use of a variety of resources based on UN/UNCT priorities to achieve results, such as cross-functional teams, secondments and developmental assignments, and collaborative funding approaches;
• Oversees and documents the process of strategy formulation for programmes at country level.

Building Strategic Partnerships:
Identifying and building partnerships

• Effectively networks with partners seizing opportunities to build strategic alliances relevant to UN/UNCT’s strategic agenda;
• Sensitizes UN Partners, donors and other international organizations to the UN/UNCT’s strategic agenda, identifying areas for joint efforts;
• Develops positive ties with civil society to build/strengthen UN/UNCT’s mandate;
• Identifies needs and interventions for capacity building of counterparts, clients and potential partners;
• Effectively attentive to programmatic synergies in inter-agency meetings.

Innovation and Marketing New Approaches:
Developing new approaches

• Seeks a broad range of perspectives in  working towards objectives;
• Generates for regional and innovative ideas and effective solutions to problems;
• Looks at experience critically, drawing lessons, and building them into the design of new approaches;
• Identifies new approaches and promotes their use in other situations;
• Documents successes and uses them to project a positive image.

Resource Mobilization:
Building and maintaining donor relations; implementing resource mobilization strategy

• Develops detailed knowledge and understanding of key donors, their priorities and areas of interest and adapts content and approach of resource mobilization activities to their requirements;
• Builds and maintains relationships with donors demonstrating professionalism in providing advice and information on UN activities and sensitivity to donor concerns.

Promoting Organizational Learning and Knowledge Sharing:
Developing tools and mechanisms

• Makes the case for innovative ideas documenting successes and building them into the design of new approaches;
• Identifies new approaches and strategies that promote the use of tools and mechanisms.

Job Knowledge/Technical Expertise:
In-depth knowledge of the subject-matter

• Understands more advanced aspects of primary area of specialization as well as the fundamental concepts of related disciplines;
• Serves as internal consultant in the area of expertise and shares knowledge with staff;
• Continues to seeks new and improved methods and systems for accomplishing the work of the unit;
• Keeps abreast of new developments in area of professional discipline and job knowledge and seeks to develop him/herself professionally;
• Demonstrates comprehensive knowledge of information technology and applies it in work assignments;
• Demonstrates comprehensive understanding and knowledge of the current guidelines and project management tools and utilizes these regularly in work assignments;
• Proven strong analytical capacity and the capacity to translate such analysis into easily accessible and concise reports;
• A can-do attitude and team-builder by excellence;
• Outstanding facilitation skills;
• Political acumen.

Client Orientation:
Contributing to positive outcomes for the client

• Anticipates client needs;
• Works towards creating an enabling environment for a smooth relationship between the clients and service provider;
• Demonstrates understanding of client’s perspective.

Core Competencies:

• Promoting ethics and integrity, creating organizational precedents;
• Building support and political acumen;
• Building staff competence,  creating an environment of creativity and innovation;
• Building and promoting effective teams;
• Creating and promoting enabling environment for open communication;
• Creating an emotionally intelligent organization;
• Leveraging conflict in the interests of UNDP & setting standards;
• Sharing knowledge across the organization and building a culture of knowledge sharing and learning. Promoting learning and knowledge management/sharing is the responsibility of each staff member;
• Fair and transparent  decision making; calculated risk-taking.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Completion of Master’s Degree or equivalent in Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management, Environmental Science / Management, Economics, Social Sciences, International Relations, Political Sciences or related field.

Experience:

• Minimum 7 years of relevant experience at the national or international level in substantive coordination work;
• In-depth understanding of Nepal’s development environment, climate change issues and its challenges and opportunities;
• Hands-on experience in design, monitoring and evaluation of development projects;
• Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages;
• Experience of working in interdisciplinary projects or assignments preferably on climate change related issues will be an asset.

Language:

• Fluency in spoken and written English and Nepali is an absolute must;
• Knowledge of other languages used in Nepal will be considered an advantage.